THE PBA is eyeing to hold several games in the season-opening Commissioner’s Cup in Hong Kong.
The presence of the returning Bay Area Dragons paved the way for the league to take its act overseas as the East Asia Super League (EASL) ballclub is now based in the former British colony.
Previously, the Dragons made Manila their base when they participated in last season’s Commissioner’s Cup, staying for more than half a year at Shangri-La The Fort.
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Coached by Australian national mentor Brian Goorjian, Bay Area brought in the crowd and finished runner-up behind Barangay Ginebra.
“May pinag-uusapan na baka maglaro sa Hong Kong. At least three games sa Hong Kong. Pinag-usapan namin ni Mr. Matt Beyer,” said PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.
Beyer, co-founder and CEO of EASL, also acts as one of the top officials of Bay Area.
“Hindi ko pa masabi kasi hindi pa talaga finalized yung pag-uusap namin. Pero 80 percent na maglalaro sa Hongkong.”
Initially, the Dragons planned to be based in Macau, but later decided to stay in Hong Kong instead.
The Dragons were a big hit last season behind prolific imports Myles Powell and Andrew Nicholson to give the top teams in the league a run for their money.
Thrilling PBA debut
They engaged the San Miguel Beermen in a tough semifinals series and won, 3-1, before pushing the Kings to a deciding Game 7 in the finals, which drew a new PBA record crowd of 54,589 at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Ginebra won the title via 114-99 victory.
Marcial couldn’t say yet if the rematch between the Kings and Dragons would take place in Hong Kong, but identified the three teams that are eyed to play in the city that serves as a special administrative region of China.
“Napag usapan na rin namin kung sinong mga teams (ang lalaro), pero pasensiya na at hindi ko pa masabi kasi hindi pa finalized lahat sa amin ni Matt (Beyer),” said the commissioner.
The games would be played over the weekend just like a regular out-of-town game.
“Ang laro nun every Saturday or Sunday. Yung team magta-travel doon by Friday. So parang out-of-town game siya,” added Marcial.
As for covering the game live, the PBA top honcho admitted it’s one concern being studied by coveror TV5.
“Yun ang dilemma ng TV5 kung paano. Wala pang gaanong napag-uusapan,” said Marcial. “Paglalaro pa lang sa Hong Kong (ang usapan), wala pa yung TV coverage, pero kailangan maipalabas yun dito.”
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